KARACHI: Imran Farhat led from the front as Habib Bank bounced back in style to crush Bahawalpur Stags by a massive margin of 236 runs in the Haier President’s Silver League One-day Cup tie on Monday.

After their shock four-wicket defeat in Group-II’s first round to Abbottabad Falcons on Saturday, Habib Bank needed a swift revival to their title aspirations against the Stags at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

Imran set the tone with his 14th List A century as the left-hander smashed 11 boundaries and five sixes in scoring 137 runs from only 117 deliveries after the Stags chose to field first at the toss.

Habib Bank eventually reached 340-7 with Imran dominating successive 100-plus partnerships. He put on 140 for the opening wicket with Aftab Khan, who made 53 off 51 balls with five fours and one six.

Pakistan batsman Asad Shafiq slammed nine boundaries in making a 90-ball 68 as he and Imran added 124 for the second wicket.

The Stags’ response to the chase was catastrophic as burly seamer Fahad Masood dismissed Sajid Mahmood (0), Faisal Mubashir (2) and Imranullah (6) to leave them tottering at nine for three. Fahad bowled just one spell of three overs to end up with figures of 3-4.

Thereafter it was a matter of time before the shell-shocked Stags were shot out for 104 in the 35th over with only two batsmen — Bilal Khilji (39 off 88 balls, two fours) and Moinuddin (36 off 61, five boundaries) who together forged a fifth-wicket stand of 62 — entering double figures.

Spinner Aslam Qureshi, who took the new ball, grabbed three wickets for 16 runs, while Asad, seldom seeing turning his arm over, picked up two for 14 in 4.5 overs of occasional leg-spin two days before his 29th birthday.

In a game reduced to 24-over per side because of inferior light conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chalked up their second win on the trot when they defeated the Falcons by eight wickets.

Test spinner Zulfiqar Babar snared three wickets for 23 while new-ball bowlers, Waqas Maqsood and Mohammad Ali Bhutta, claimed two apiece as the Falcons mustered 130-9 after being put into bat. Nasir Khan, hero of their victory against Habib Bank, contributed a 30-ball 39 (four fours and one six).

Opener Mohammad Fayyaz then struck an unconquered 60 from 58 deliveries (seven fours) to help Wapda reach their target in 20 overs.

Lahore Eagles launched their Group-III campaign on a winning note at the LCCA Ground in Lahore when they tamed Multan Tigers by seven runs in a fixture which was curtailed by poor light from the onset.

All-rounder Kashif Naved smashed an unbeaten 90 from only 53 balls while clobbering a dozen boundaries and three sixes as the Tigers collected an impressive 194-6 in 24 overs after being asked to bat first.

The Eagles thrived on debutant opener Tayyab Tahir’s belligerent 27-ball 50 (eight fours and a brace of sixes) and equally vital knocks from Jahangir Mirza (an undefeated run-a-ball 50 that included five fours and one six) and captain Fahad-ul-Haq’s 24-ball 32 to be ahead of the Tigers’ total by seven runs at 188-3 in 23 overs when the umpires took the players off.

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) made amends for their surprise loss against the Tigers on Saturday by sealing a four-wicket success against Faisalabad Wolves in the other Group-III encounter at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

In another match that was restricted by poor weather to a 43-over affair, the Wolves were all out for 186 in 42.2 overs with slow left-armer Fahim Ahmed capturing a career-best 6-32 in nine overs.

Usman Tariq anchored the chase with 84 off 102 balls (11 boundaries) before SSGC were home with four overs to spare.

The next round of matches will see the four-team Group-I entering the fray from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the semi-final line-ups in the top tier Gold League competition will be decided on Tuesday when the last round of fixtures takes place.

Results:

Group-II:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Wapda beat Abbottabad Falcons by eight wickets.

ABBOTTABAD FALCONS 130-9 in 24 overs (Nasir Khan 39, Mohammad Ali 26; Zulfiqar Babar 3-23, Mohammad Ali Bhutta 2-21, Waqas Maqsood 2-23); WAPDA 131-2 in 20 overs (Mohammad Fayyaz 60 not out, Riffatullah Mohmand 28, Adnan Raees 28 not out).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: Habib Bank beat Bahawalpur Stags by 236 runs.

HABIB BANK 340-7 in 50 overs (Imran Farhat 137, Asad Shafiq 68, Aftab Khan 53, Humayun Farhat 21, Hasan Raza 21; Ansar Javed 2-48, Imranullah Aslam 2-58); BAHAWALPUR STAGS 104 in 34.5 overs (Bilal Khilji 39, Moinuddin 36; Fahad Masood 3-4, Aslam Qureshi 3-16, Asad Shafiq 2-14).

Group-III:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Lahore Eagles beat Multan Tigers by seven runs (D/L Method).

MULTAN TIGERS 194-6 in 24 overs (Kashif Naved 90 not out, Ammar Ali 35, Gulraiz Sadaf 29; Mohammad Suleman 2-33); LAHORE EAGLES 188-4 in 23 overs (Tayyab Tahir 52, Jahangir Mirza 50 not out, Fahad-ul-Haq 32, Mohammad Waheed 21; Kashif Naved 2-27, Haziq Habibullah Khan 2-40).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: SSGC beat Faisalabad Wolves by four wickets.

FAISALABAD WOLVES 186 in 42.2 overs (Asif Ali 36, Naseer Akram 36 not out, Waqas Wasif 26; Fahim Ahmed 6-32); SSGC 189-6 in 38 overs (Usman Tariq 84, Tariq Haroon 26 not out, Mohammad Waqas 22, Ashraf Ali 20; Sadaqat Ali 3-28, Jahandad Khan 2-43).

Wednesday’s fixtures: Quetta Bears vs PIA at RLCA Ground (Gulberg), Karachi; Hyderabad Hawks vs United at Sports Complex, Mirpurkhas; Bahawalpur Stags vs Wapda at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore; Sialkot Stallions vs Abbottabad Falcons at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala; Lahore Eagles vs SSGC at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Multan Tigers vs Pakistan Television at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Published in Dawn January 27th, 2015

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